plate no. 6655
Muttra
Edwin Lord Weeks, 1883
some experience helpful
Recreating this painting will help students develop skills in depicting reflections and capturing the atmosphere of a scene using a limited color palette. It also offers practice in rendering architectural details and figures in a landscape.
technical profile
palette complexity
4
brushwork visibility
4
value contrast
3
compositional simplicity
2
study guide
est. 12 hrsapproach — 8 steps
- step 01
Sketch the basic shapes and perspective of the buildings and water line.
- step 02
Establish the main light and shadow areas with thin washes of color.
- step 03
Begin building up the architectural details, focusing on the shapes and forms.
- step 04
Add the figures, paying attention to their placement and interaction with the environment.
- step 05
Develop the reflections in the water, using vertical strokes and slightly desaturated colors.
- step 06
Refine the details and add highlights to create depth and dimension.
- step 07
Glaze over areas to unify the colors and create a sense of atmosphere.
- step 08
Add final touches and adjust values as needed.
color palette
primary · yellow ochre · burnt sienna · ultramarine blue
secondary · titanium white · cadmium red light · raw umber
Achieve the warm tones by mixing yellow ochre and burnt sienna. Use ultramarine blue and white for the sky and cooler water tones. Mix small amounts of red into the earth tones to create variations in the buildings.
techniques
- ·dry brush texture
- ·glazing
- ·scumbling
- ·broken color
- ·atmospheric perspective
common pitfalls
- →Overworking the details and losing the overall impression.
- →Making the reflections too literal and symmetrical.
- →Using colors that are too saturated and bright.
- →Ignoring the atmospheric perspective and failing to create depth.
materials
surface · stretched canvas
required
- ·stretched canvas
- ·yellow ochre oil paint
- ·burnt sienna oil paint
- ·ultramarine blue oil paint
- ·titanium white oil paint
- ·round brushes (sizes 2, 4, 6)
- ·linseed oil
- ·palette
optional
- ·palette knife
- ·medium (e.g., Liquin)
- ·easel
Use a medium-textured canvas to allow for dry brush techniques. Consider toning the canvas with a thin wash of burnt sienna before starting.
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